What does it take for us to believe God will keep God’s promises to us? It’s easy of course to point fingers, but what happens when we place ourselves in the others’ context? Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Exodus 14:30-31 AFV
[30] So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore.
[31] And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians. And the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.
Finally … Fearing God
Was God before the Human Council attempting to prove God’s God-ness? We note that when Israel saw God’s great work, their faith emerged. Both in God’s capacity and in Moses as God’s representative. It was only after the miracle.
Self-Check
What does it take for us to believe in God’s promises to us? Do we believe upon confirmation in the Word or by witnesses, or only when God actually fulfils the promises?
Deeper Dive
You might remember that we began this series at the point where Moses was quickly assuring the Children of Israel that God was working on their behalf. (For me, it feels like a long time ago, but it was probably a little over a week). Then, Moses actually told the Children of Israel to stand back, i.e., stop worrying, and expect a miracle.
The miracle came, and their Egyptians were gone forever. That’s when they finally believed.
It reminds me of the disciples of Y’shua. They walked with Him just about every day. Yet, at the worst sign of trouble, their words to Him were: ‘Don’t you care if we drown?’ (See Mark 4:35-41 for details). On one level, they were expressing great faith in Y’shua to save them. But, on a deeper, more profound level, the disciples didn’t think that a sleeping Y’shua could save them from drowning.
Faithless, eh
But, what about you and me? What’s our faith and trust quotient? We are a step beyond them, having believed without seeing (see Luke 1:45; 24:41; and John 20:29). But how easily do we question God’s capacity to be God in our lives when life doesn’t go as planned? Are we truly very different from them?
I know, there were/are mitigating circumstances resulting in our doubt – God didn’t answer our last prayer with a yes; we don’t believe that God would answer this type of prayer; we’re afraid of disappointment; and the list goes on. Mine does, from time to time. The fact is, they also had mitigating circumstances. They had never interacted with God as Deliverer before. In fact, before the Exodus, they hadn’t had too many opportunities to worship and experience God’s God-ness.
Exodus 8:1 is clear that God desired an opportunity for the Children of Israel to worship. Pharaoh refused. Oppressed people don’t trust easily. And there might have been a slight case of Stockholm Syndrome between the Children of Israel and their enslavers. They represented routine and the familiar. The disciples were living in occupied territory, and they also knew the dangers of the sea.
When we find ourselves ready to judge ourselves or others for lack of faith, let’s first explore the mitigating circumstances.
More than that however, let us resolve to be so intimate with God and the habits of Y’shua that when life happens, we are firmly convicted and assured that God will indeed deliver.
Point to Ponder
What will it require to strengthen our trust in Y’shua?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
